By Wen Xin Lim

How Is Social Media Shaping Our Perspectives?

In an era of
changing technology, our reading habits have been shaped and affected by the
advent of digital devices as internet access becomes more prevalent. Today, the
internet has become the main source of news, far above conventional forms of communication
such as newspapers, TV, and radio. Significantly, survey results suggest that Millennials do not browse news sites or read newspapers,
but rather spend substantial numbers of hours on social media platforms like
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, and rely on their social media feeds.

Why is this trend
important to take note of? It is crucial because by studying this phenomenon,
we can understand how social media is shaping or even changing the perspective
of the younger generation, whom we call “the future.”

In contrast to readers
who actively obtain their news from various platforms, younger internet users
who get their news from social media sites may be passive news-seekers who rely
on news that pop out from social media pages or accounts that they commonly
follow. Notably, their social networks decide and shape their opinions and
perspectives. Social media users are exposed to news shared or recommended by
their friends. When they happen to come across certain news stories by chance while
browsing through their social media feeds, this results in selective
participation in news and could possibly lead to incomplete news experience. Such
news discovery paths could be limited, selective, and even narrow depending on
the type of social media pages that they choose to follow.

Moreover, there
are increasing numbers of unauthorized, misleading, or satirical news sites which
publish dubious information and even leverage on public outrage to attract
readership for the purpose of generating profits. Many of these distorted news stories
are shared on social media sites with eye-catching titles. Some bogus news stories
are difficult to identify as they might not be completely fallacious but are
instead distortions of true events. As a result, misinterpretations of these
events could arise when one reads these news stories without careful verification
and evaluation of their sources.

While the digital
age has improved our access to knowledge and resources, the resulting information
overload can become a double-edge sword when it comes to our making informed
choices and decisions. It’s been reported that 82 percent of middle-schoolers are not able to distinguish between real and fake news.
The school education system today has not caught up with the pace of internet
development, and students are not equipped with the ability to spot fake news or
discern the credibility of news sites. In 2016, fake news tended to outperform
real news and this led to unexpected outcomes. Business Insider reported that “according to data from a Facebook-monitoring tool, the
top 20 fake news stories collectively got more engagements — shares, likes,
comments — than the top 20 factually accurate news stories shared by mainstream
news outlets.” Some even said this phenomenon had swung the 2016 US election
result as several of the biggest fake news stories published before
the election included Pope Francis endorsing Donald Trump for president,
WikiLeaks confirming Hillary Clinton had sold weapons to ISIS, Donald Trump had
sent his private plane to transport 200 stranded marines, etc.

Companies should develop interactive,
educational, and technological platforms which are able to disseminate correct
information that will shape the worldview of the younger generation.

In times of
digitalization, an internet user can have multiple online identities. This
complicates the whole picture as it effectively blurs the line between the roles
of reader and writer or content contributor. When one shares, comments, or
reviews an article, it all contributes to the construction of readers’
understanding of the topic. Sometimes,
comments and reviews of a shared article can garner more attention and
influence than the original piece. Social media, with its informational social
environment, thus exposes users to diverse opinions in a participatory manner and
has the power to shape individuals’ perceptions.

This scenario is
also tied to how social media platforms such as Facebook, Weibo, YouTube, and
Instagram function. Today, social media platforms are more than engagement
platforms but are also search engines for hot topics. Often, the more a topic
is being discussed on a platform, the more attention it will get as the most
popular topic will be listed at the top of users’ social media feeds. Rory
Cellan-Jonesthus argues that “social media sites have become themost powerful force in global news potentially offering publishers access to vast audiences but
leaving them dependent on the whims of its algorithms.”

While Google and Facebook have
been “taking steps to curb the number of false news articles propagated across
their sites” by adding
fact-checking options for readers, “tweaking the platform’s algorithm and
provide more restrictions on advertising,” experts remain skeptical about the effectiveness
of these moves. In view of how information and data are shared, discussed, and
deliberated on social media platforms, these companies should transcend their
conventional roles and bear the social responsibility of developing interactive,
educational, and technological platforms which are able to disseminate correct
information that will shape the worldview of the younger generation.

Among
all internet tools, social media is one of the most powerful platforms that
shape our perceptions in terms of how we perceive ourselves, others, and the
world. With increasing internet penetration, what seems to be a virtual world
to the older generation is in fact indispensable to the younger generations. The
online lifestyle that is more experiential, engaging, and interactive than ever
before has become a force for change in the global flows of the digital age. While
the majority of users have subscribed to the social media mantra, smart users
however should not be wholly fooled by what they read and see
online.

About The Author

Wen Xin Lim is a Research Associate at IPP Review. She worked as a Research Assistant at the East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore from 2014-2015. She obtained her B. Soc. Science (Hons) in Economics & Chinese Studies from the National University of Singapore in 2013.